Police checks are ongoing after a Scoot flight bound for Perth turned back to Singapore on Thursday (Oct 12) due to a bomb threat.
The police said in a statement that they were informed of the bomb threat on board flight TR16 at about 4.55pm. The flight took off at 4.11pm.
“The flight had departed Singapore and made a U-turn back to Singapore. The plane landed safely at Changi Airport at about 6.26pm,” the police said, adding that the plane was escorted by Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) aircraft.
“Police are in the midst of conducting necessary checks, and investigations are ongoing.”
The police said that they take security threats seriously and will not hesitate to take action against those who intentionally cause public alarm.
In response to CNA’s queries, Scoot said a “precautionary decision” was made to turn the plane back to Singapore due to the bomb threat.
“Scoot is assisting the authorities with their investigations. As this is a security matter, we regret that we are unable to provide further details,” the airline said.
According to data from flight tracker Flightradar24, flight TR16 made a U-turn over Indonesia’s Bangka Island and headed back towards Singapore about 30 minutes into the flight.
It then entered a holding pattern over the South China Sea east of Malaysia, flying in loops for about 50 minutes.
The plane subsequently flew over Batam before landing at Changi Airport on Thursday evening. As of 6.50pm, the plane appeared to be stationary near the southern end of Runway 3 and had not returned to a terminal.
